Fun Ways to Tie Shoelaces

Finding fun ways to tie your shoelaces isn't just an enjoyable way to pass the time, but an easy method to dress up a simple pair of sneakers. Forget what you learned in grade school, because these new techniques are actually pretty cool--and functional!

Lace them up right!

Looking for creative ways to tie your shoes? Kick things off with these simple techniques, and maybe you'll even end up inventing a few ways on your own.

Start lacing your shoes by taking each end and pushing it through the first bottom hole on each lace side. Cross the laces over each other, pushing the laces into the second set of lace holes from the top up. Continue crossing the laces over and then pushing the laces through the top of the eyelets.

Take your lace and push it through the bottom eyelets from the bottom up. Cross the laces twice before pushing the laces through the next hole directly above the first on the same side of the shoe, instead of criss-crossing over the tongue as usual.

Take your laces and lace them straight across the bottom, pushing the laces into the eyelets from the bottom up. Skip two eyelets along the tongue of the shoe, crossing them and then pushing them through the fourth eyelets from the bottom, from the top up. Go down one eyelet and feed your laces from the bottom up. Continue this process by moving to the sixth set of eyelets, moving down one again to push the laces through the bottom up, and criss-cross as before.

Begin by lacing your shoes from the bottom up. Take the two shoelaces and wrap them around each other two times in a twisting motion, then push the laces up from the bottom up again. Repeat the twisting motion again and continue.

Start at the third set of eyelets from the bottom of your shoe, feeding the laces into the eyelets from the bottom up. Moving downwards, lace each lace into the shoe's respective vertical eyelets without crossing the laces from the top down, and then the bottom up. You will have laced to the last eyelet. Next, pull each lace from the bottom of the shoe's eyelets vertically to the fourth hole, without crossing each lace. Push the laces into this eyelet set from the top down, and lace up the rest of the shoe as normal.

Sometimes, instead of lacing your shoes up all fancy, you can instead buy laces that add a little kick to your footwear. Here are some looks to try:

Curly Laces: Mostly reserved for children, these laces do not need to be tied at the top, and are very useful for athletic sneakers. They are usually made from stretchy material, like elastic.

Novelty Leather Laces: Look for rugged leather laces that add a slightly woodsy, outdoorsy appeal to your shoes.

Colored Laces: Black laces, blue laces, and burgundy laces will complement your shoe's design and kick the look up a notch. Try to pick up a special tone in the shoe's uppers that you would like to highlight, like a Nike Swoosh or Adidass colored stripes. Consider sticking to a coordinating color scheme if you don't want to just match.

Charmed Laces: One little charm added onto your laces is a great way to add interest to your shoes without working too hard at it. Select any charm that strikes your fancy, from a personality-based one to something funny.

After you've mastered these techniques, you just have to decide which one of these fun ways to tie shoelaces you like best. It's not an easy decision, but after you lace your shoes up all the different ways, you'll find one that just sticks.

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